It is out with the now-closed Red Lobster restaurant site and in with Dutch Bros Coffee in Bradley.

The new owner of the 2.2-acre site which fronts the Northfield Square mall property along Bradley Boulevard, will transform it into a collection of four food or drink businesses.

At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, the final plan clearing the way for the development was unanimously approved by trustees. It is expected that by late summer, a two-lane drive-thru Dutch Bros Coffee shop will be satisfying area coffee lovers.

Ownership of the site said Bradley’s developments of the baseball complex and the pending indoor waterpark impacted the desire to purchase the location.

The first order of business for the development group, Core Development, of Deerfield, will be the demolition of the long-standing Red Lobster site, which closed in August 2024.

Demolition of the former restaurant will take place within the next 30-60 days. Construction of the two buildings at the site will begin in the spring, said Adam Bell, a co-owner of Core Development.

The coffee shop will be 1,250 square feet, and the location will have drive-thru or walk-up window ordering. There will be no inside seating.

The three other unnamed businesses will occupy 8,500 square feet. These sites will be in three divided spaces. While contracts are yet to be signed for the occupants, Bell said one will be a chicken restaurant, another a breakfast location, and the third a smoothie-type site.

The coffee shop could be open as early as late summer.

Asked about invading a coffee market dominated by the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin’, Bell said Dutch Bros is making a push into Illinois.

He said Dutch Bros targets the younger demographic with what he labeled “fun drinks,” meaning coffee types not found in the more traditional coffee locations.

Its most popular drink is the Golden Eagle, a sweet and creamy espresso. In addition to espresso, the locations offer White Coffee (lighter, earthy, nutty, more caffeine than standard espresso), Cold Brew, and Nitro Cold Brew (infused with nitrogen for a creamier texture and more caffeine). Baked goods are also offered.

Started in 1992 as a pushcart operation in Grants Pass, Oregon, now has some 1,100 locations in 22 states. The publicly traded company is targeting 2,029 locations by 2029.

Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, since early 2024, the business only recently entered Illinois.

As of late 2025, Dutch Bros had Illinois sites: Urbana, Edwardsville, and Fairview Heights. A Bloomington location is in development.

He said traffic counts, the Target-anchored shopping center, and Bradley working with Mattel on an indoor water park will drive customers to this site purchased in October.

Bell said Core Development began looking at the Red Lobster site in November 2024. There were some starts and stops, but the acquisition was completed nearly a year later.

Mayor Mike Watson said the location is considered a “prime piece of real estate” within the village.

“I didn’t think it would be long before someone would be developing here (former Red Lobster),” he said.

Watson conceded he has never visited a Dutch Bros Coffee shop.

But, he said, as long as a business fits into the direction the village is establishing, they are welcome.

“We are going to see a new variety of businesses.”